Something more
by evilbeckles
Summary: The story of Severus Snape from fifth year onwards. What if he had a friend who tried to help him win Lilly back, a friend who would stick with him while he loses Lilly Evans over and over again.
1. Chapter 1

The story of Severus Snape from fifth year onwards. What if he had a friend who tried to help him win Lilly back, a friend who would stick with him while he loses Lilly Evans over and over again. As told by that person to Harry when he tries to find out more about the man who saved his life for the love of his mother.

I do not own Harry potter or the characters in this apart from Caliope. (said cal-i-o-pee)

Harry stood in the headmaster's office of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry wearing his best, black dress robes. It was the first time he had been back to Hogwarts since the final battle, it had been almost a month and he had worn the same robes most days since. Funerals were plentiful for those lucky enough to have found the bodies of their loved ones. This was the last funeral of the victims of that night; well it wasn't so much a funeral, more a memorial for those unlucky enough to be lost. Harry felt a weight lift of his chest as they read the names of those lost, like it was finally over, he had taken the stand himself and delivered a speech for Severus Snape. The man he had spent most of his time at Hogwarts hating, the man who had given everything to protect him over the years with no thanks.

It had dawned on Harry as he left the podium that he knew very little about the man apart from the fact he had loved Harry's mother, hated his father and ultimately brought about a way to defeat the dark lord. Harry had mentioned this to a few of his old professors who had worked with him, but all he found out was that Severus Snape was quite possibly the most closely guarded and private man in the wizarding world. He supposed that he would have to be to carry around such secrets and lie to such a powerful man for so long. There was a glimmer of hope for Harry's search for information; professor McGonagall had asked him to meet her in the headmaster's office after the service.

"Oh Potter you're here already, good." McGonagall looked tired and older; her face was still slightly puffy from crying during the service. "Take a seat please Potter" she motioned to the desk and Harry seated himself across from the headmasters chair. He had not thought about it but she would now be the headmaster of Hogwarts, when it re opened of course, it was going to take longer than a month to clean up the mess left by the final battle. "Now I know you have come here expecting answers from me but I am afraid that even after sixteen years teaching together I knew little of the man apart from his opinions on academic subjects and the way he takes his tea." She could see the disappointment cross Harrys face. "Threat not Harry, I have not called you up here just to tell you that. I have taught at Hogwarts for almost fifty years and there are things I remember from his youth, particularly one person who would know a lot more about him than I. If you are going to get any information about the man he was behind the part he played then she will be your best bet" She handed him a piece of parchment with a name and an address on it. "Good luck mister Potter, I am confident that if anybody is going to get to the bottom of whom he really was it is you."

Looking down at the parchment Harry's brow furrowed, surly there was some sort of mistake. The house he stood in front of was a three story townhouse in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by miles of open fields and forests. It was also completely decrepit, the paint was peeling, and the windows covered in cobwebs with no glass in them, the front steps looked too dangerous to even contemplate climbing. He looked again at the name written. "Caliope Whentworth?" He mused out loud.

A rush of air hit him square in the face knocking him to the ground, as he looked back to the house he drew in a breath in shock. The house had transformed from a decrepit mess into a stunning work of art. The glass in the windows shimmered purple and pink, the paint work was pristine and the steps up to the house were white marble. He heard footsteps coming towards the front of the house and the front door swung open. "What are you doing on my land?" Said a stern voice as a cloaked figure took the steps two at a time their wand pointing directly at Harrys head. "Who are you? What do you want?" Said the voice as the figure stood over him.

"My name is Harry Potter, I'm here to see Caliope Whentworth, I was told she could tell me more about Severus Snape." The wand pointing at him instantly dropped. The figures voice was softer when it finally spoke again. "Of course you are…" A hand extended from under the cloak and helped him to his feet. "I suppose you know now about how he…" the voice trailed off. "Was in love with my mother? Yes"

They stood there for a few moments in silence both being completely still, the cloaked figure lowered her hood and looked up into Harrys face. The older woman was beautiful, she had soft brown eyes and pale skin, wrinkles around her eyes and mouth showed she was older, maybe in her late thirties. How had this woman gone to school with Snape, she was clearly too young, McGonagall had to be mistaken. The woman's eyes went wide and she gasped. "He was right." She said with a small smile as she looked up into Harry's eyes. "Exactly like your mothers."

She turned on her heel and walked back up the marble steps. "Come inside Harry, I know you must have lots of questions." They entered the house and were instantly met by the smell of baking. Caliope removed her cloak and hung it on a hook just inside the door; she motioned for him to do the same. She had straight thick brown hair down to her waist, her frame was slim but curvy and she stood at about the same height as Harry.

Harry followed her into a large living room which had comfortable looking furniture in dark reds and brown's, the room was lit with candles and lamps giving it a homely feel. The room was ordinary by most counts but Harry noticed as he sat down most of the surfaces were covered in baked goods such as muffins and scones. "When I'm stressed or upset I bake and as you can imagine I've been very upset for the last month. Help yourself to anything you like they were all made today." She sat down opposite him. "So, what would you like to know about Severus?"

"I didn't really think to be honest; I just wanted to know what he was really like, what he was like with my mother. I know he loved her but surely that couldn't have been everything to him…surely he had to have…I don't know" Harry stumbled over his words. He looked down at his hands then up at Caliope.

"You want to know that here was something more for him, that he didn't die having never know happiness and love?" she enquired. "Yes, exactly…was there someone else? Was he happy?...what was your relationship to him?"

"I was his closest friend…after your mother of course. We didn't even meet until after they stopped talking. You see we were both in love with people we could not have, we became close, confided in each other." She looked sad, she motioned to the wall behind her and he saw a picture of the two of them, it looked like they were in their late teens, stood on top of a mountain smiling out at him. "we did our around the world trip together, I was there when for him when your mother got married, when you were born, when she died…and in return he was there for me when I needed him most. We never loved each other…not like that. I believe there are people out there that are good matches for each other, that are compatible, but I think that we have soul mates. If you are lucky enough to meet your soul mate then nobody will ever compare to them." She looked up at Harry; her eyes looked tired and sad. "Lilly was his soul mate, I found my soul mate too. We couldn't have them, so we sought comfort with each other…he was my best friend" Her face sunk and tears started to spill down her cheeks. "I'm sorry" she said wiping them away.

"I don't mean to pry." Harry leant forward, taking her hands in his. "If it's not too much of a bother I would like to know more about him, his life, your relationship, his relationship with my mother. If it's too much I can come back…" He was cut off. "No, no don't be silly. I put some damn good charms on this house it must have taken you a long time to find it I can't send you home. Of course I will tell you, do you want me to start from when we first became friends or would you rather I told you about him and your mother? I could tell you about the last time I saw him…Merlin…it was only six weeks ago. I think he knew his time was coming to a close, it felt like he was saying goodbye."

He knew this wasn't going to be easy on her, he could also sense that she needed to talk to someone. "From the beginning if that's ok?" he said. She smiled.

Please review. Constructive criticism is always welcomed.


	2. Meeting

Each chapter is going to be from Calliope's point of view when she was younger. Occasionally I will put in some dialogue that is the older Calliope talking to Harry.

This is the first proper chapter in their story. This chapter is about them meeting.

I do not oven Harry Potter or anything related to it.

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Calliope scanned the three broomsticks as she sat on the edge of a table that was pushed against the wall. The air was warm and thick with the smell of butter beer, it was inviting, safe. The water outside was finally calming down after the snow storm that had caused everyone to take cover. The Pub was full of students, laughing, joking, singing and dancing. She could not see her friend Sarah anywhere, they had arrived together and had been happily chatting for hours, and then Sarah had visited the bathroom and disappeared. It had been half an hour and Calliope had given up hope that her friend would return to her any time soon. Everyone around her was happy and cheery but without her best friend she felt a bit lost, like there wasn't much point to the party. So she sat on her table and she watched as the rest of the students had their fun.

She looked across the room and saw a tall pale boy with long black hair leaning against the opposite wall; he looked a strange mixture between angry and completely heartbroken. Following his gaze she felt a similar feeling swell up in the pit of her stomach. There in the corner of the room, half hidden by the staircase was Sarah, arms around the hips of Sirius Black, her face firmly attached to his. Next to them she noticed a pretty red haired girl similarly entwined around a tall boy she knew to be James Potter, captain of the Gryffindor Quiddich team. She looked back to where the tall, pale boy had been standing but he was no longer there.

Calliope jumped down off the table inwardly cursing her silly choice of outfit. Who wears a dress and boots in a blizzard, why had she done that? She knew exactly why, because Sarah had mentioned how nice her legs looked with that particular combination. Well that wasn't going to help her now; she would most likely half freeze without the warming spell Sarah was so good at casting. She shoved past people as she made her way to the door, grabbing her coat and scarf as she passed the overflowing coat rack. Tears threatened to fall as she quickly wrapped the scarf around her and shoved her arms into her coat. She pulled the door open with considerable more force than she had intended knocking a fourth years drink onto her. "Great" she whispered as she stormed out of the pub. She took one step and thanked Merlin she was wearing boots as the snow reached well past her ankle.

She turned right out of the pub and started to walk back towards the path to Hogwarts. So what if it was dark already, so what if there had been rumours of a wolf roaming the grounds. She couldn't stay there sitting alone, cast away by her best friend for a boy. Especially not when that boy was Sirius Black, the same boy that had been bothering her for two years, the same boy who had begged HER to come to Hogsmede that day. Now it seemed he had finally given up and moved onto her friend, her best friend. Someone entirely too good for him.

As she stormed along the street her foot slipped into a pot hole causing the deep snow to overflow into her boot, soaking her socks and making her already numb with cold feet sting. "FUCK!" she shouted turning to the building beside her and kicking the wall. That, she would learn, was a very bad idea. Snow that had been carefully resting on the roof of the building came tumbling down on top of her with such force it knocked her to the ground. Choking and spluttering she pulled herself free from the mound of snow, as she knelt there on all fours she was a pair of legs in front of her. She looked up; the tears that had previously threatened to fall now streaming freely down her face.

The tall boy from the pub stood in front of her, his hand out stretched for her to grab. She took his hand gratefully and he pulled her to her feet, she noticed he was mumbling something while moving his other hand beneath his cloak. She was about to make a smart comment about boys being vile when a sudden warm feeling came over her body and her clothes vibrated slightly then appeared to be dry. She looked up into his unusually pale face, his eyes were dark, strikingly so, but warm and caring. "Thank you." She stated. "I'm Calliope, I noticed you in the Three Broomsticks."

The boy looked down at her with a confused expression. "Really? Nobody notices me usually." He looked down at their hands, still intertwined between them. He pulled his hand away and started to walk towards the castle. Calliope stood still for a few moments looking after him, fazed by the fact he had just walked away. "So you don't have a name then?" she enquired, taking a few faster steps to keep up with him. Due to the height difference she soon found herself out of breath trying to keep step with the boy. "My name is Severus Snape" He stated bluntly.

"Oh, well thank you Severus for helping me out of my mess back there. Listen, I can tell by your ever quickening pace you don't really want to talk to me and you don't have to. I came today with my friend but she's currently permanently attached to Blacks face, so I'm going back to Hogwarts alone. Its dark and I would appreciate the company, I won't talk, I just don't want to walk alone." His pace slowed and he looked down at her, noticing the lines of mascara running down her face.

"Jealous of your friend?" He said with a vicious undertone. "Oh, Merlin no! I wouldn't kiss Black if i were held at wand point and told I would be tortured. He is both physically and mentally repulsive to me, that boy is slimier than those weird ten legged things first years pull out of the lake" She physically shuddered then looked up at the boy walking beside her. She was surprised to see a wide smile across his face. "It is nice to hear a girl not falling over herself to get to him. Unusual, but nice." He slowed a little more.

"Unusual like people noticing you in pubs? You know I've noticed you before, you spend a lot of time in the library don't you?" She saw the same slightly confused look pass across his face. "Yes" he said plainly. "So if it wasn't your friend you were jealous of, it must be Black. There aren't many girls of your inclination at Hogwarts." He stated staring straight ahead.

"My inclination?" She almost shouted. "And what inclination would that be?" She was shaking with anger. How dare this practical stranger call her out on something like that? "It isn't a bad thing; if you're not comfortable with it I will be quiet."

"It's not that I'm not comfortable with it, I just don't know. I don't find girls in general attractive, actually she is the only female I do like, and she is special…" Calliope trailed off. A sudden though occurred to her. "Anyways it isn't any of your business. I don't seem to be the only person harbouring unfulfilled feelings in this conversation." She looked up at him. "I saw the way you looked at that red head Potter was snogging."

Severus suddenly picked up his pace and raced ahead of her. She had to jog lightly to keep up with him. "Wait, hey, wait." She said as she reached out for him. "Will you stop?" He stopped suddenly his face alight with anger. "You can't call me out on something so huge in my life and then expect nothing in return. That's not how normal people act. I'm sorry I have upset you, I don't know you, but you did the same to me. Listen, you seem like a nice guy, you helped me out back there. Can we just walk up to the castle in silence? I promise never to mention this again, if you promise never to?" She stared up at him, she really was quite striking. Not particularly attractive but interesting none the less. "Yes" he said simply turning and walking towards the castle as a much more reasonable speed. She smiled up at him.


	3. A true friend

I own nothing. I hope you enjoy.

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"Sarah took to spending most of her free time with Sirius from then onwards. Any time we did spend together she spent talking about him. It killed me to see the woman I loved fawning over and idiot like Black…Oh sorry, he is your god father isn't he. Well in school he was a bit of a tool. I hear he turned into a really decent guy afterwards. Anyway, I spent more and more time in the library with Severus. We would study together in complete silence, neither of us paying any particular attention to each other. Then one day the strange friendship we had developed took a turn."

Calliope entered the library like she had done every afternoon that month; she walked to the back row of shelves to the end and put her bag down on the seat opposite Severus. She took out her transfiguration homework and opened her book. After a few moments she looked up at Severus and put down her quill. The boy's eyes were puffy and red, fresh tears fell down his face, he attempted to hide behind a book but she could see he was upset. She stood up and walked around the table, moving his bag from the seat beside him.

"What happened?" she asked facing him and taking a one of the hands he had holding the book in both of hers. "Severus, I know this strange friendship type thing we have developed is usually a silent one, but you're not usually crying at the back of the library. I know you have feelings for Lilly Evans; I'm guessing I'm the only person that knows. If you can't talk to me who can you talk to?" She moved her chair closer to him resting their hands on his lap as she stared up at him.

"I love her" He said weekly. "I was walking behind them today, it wasn't on purpose. I heard her tell him that she loves him. It feels like somebody has punched a hole through my chest." He looked down at their hands then back up at Calliope; the strange confused expression from the night they met crossed his face. "Why do you spend your afternoons with me in the library, not talking? You have lots of friends I've heard them complaining in charms that you don't spend time with them. Why are you here, with me?"

"Because you are the only person that gets it, the pain of loving someone that does not love you. Because you don't feel the need to fill every silence with gibberish about the opposite sex, because you know my secret." She looked up into his dark eyes. "She loves him?" His face twisted in pain and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry Severus" She rested her head against his shoulder.

"After that our friendship became more verbal, we would spend our afternoons having intellectual conversations about what we had been learning in our lessons or sitting in silence doing homework. I am pretty sure my grades would have been substantially weaker had we not become friends. When the weather got better we would take our homework out into the grounds, try and find quiet places where people would not judge us and our strange friendship. Mainly he was worried the Slytherins would confront him because I was a Ravenclaw. We were usually susses full at staying hidden but one day we weren't so lucky, that's the day I knew he would be there for me, the way I had been there for him. That's the day I realised I had a true friend."

Severus lay on his stomach facing the tree Calliope was sitting against, they both had their books open and there wands out. "So it's a big sweeping motion, followed by a sharp twist of the wrist as your arm swoops forward?" Asked Calliope practicing the twist of the wrist with one hand and holding her book with the other.

Severus shuffled himself forward and reached for her book. "Let me see." She moved her book further away laughing. "No ill get it on my own, get your copy out of your bag" He had clambered onto his knees and was reaching across her. The arm supporting his weight buckled and he landed on her lap. Calliope burst out laughing,

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?" came a booming voice from behind them. Suddenly Severus was ten meters away sprawled on his back. Calliope jumped to her feet, wand at the ready and pointed it at the culprit. Sirius Black was standing over Severus, boot on his wrist and wand pointing at his throat. "This will teach you not to put your slimy hands on innocent women" Sirius pulled his arm back ready to inflict a curse of Severus when suddenly his wand flew from his hand and was caught by Calliope.

"What do you think you're doing Black? I suggest you move your boot before I curse your foot off." Black did as he was told and moved towards her a confused expression on his face.

"He was sexually attacking you, I saw him." Sarah had come up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What's going on baby?" She cooed resting her head on his arm. Calliope's stomach felt tight, like she would be sick at any moment. "I was saving your friend from this sex pest and she took my wand."

"He is not a sex pest he is my friend. We were studying when you came over and attacked him unprovoked" Stated Calliope throwing his wand to him as Severus came to stand beside her.

"Oh Cali no, no, no. I know I haven't been spending as much time with you lately…but this guy? You can do so much better than his kind of company. You don't need to hang around with creeps for attention." Sarah came forward her blonde hair falling across her face and took Calliopes hands in hers. "Come back to the castle with us, I will spend more time with you I promise."

Calliope pulled her hands away and took a step back. "If you want to see the creep in this situation I think you will find you have had your face attached to him for the last few months. I don't spend time with Severus for attention and we aren't involved like that. I won't come back with you and further more I won't spend time with you as long as you are with him. You know you can do better and he knows it too." Her chest went tight at the look of anger that crossed Sarah's face.

"If you're waiting for me to choose you over him, you'll be waiting a long time. I love him Cali and he loves me. Stop being jealous and get over it. If you want to spend your time with losers like him then that is fine by me. I'm done with you" With that she turned on her heel, grabbed Sirius by the hand and stormed off back to the castle.

Calliope felt her legs go weak. Her chest was tight and she could feel tears coming to the surface. Before her legs could buckle beneath her Severus had his arms around her. She leant her head on his chest and started to sob. They stood there for a long time while she cried. "I'm sorry" he whispered into her hair. As the tears finally started to subside she looked up at him. "Thank you" she said hoarsely. She wiped her eyes and took a step back. "We should get back to the castle; it's starting to get dark." With that they both collected there things and returned to the castle.


End file.
